What if you had orthodontic treatments to enhance your smile — and nobody knew about it until it was all done?

That (almost) happened to British singer, cover girl and television personality Cheryl Cole. Since her big break in 2002, on the British reality show Popstars: The Rivals, Cole has had a successful music career, taken turns judging both the British and American versions of The X Factor, and graced the covers of fashion magazines like Elle and Harpers Bazaar.

And somewhere along the way, Cole wore an orthodontic appliance. It very nearly went undetected… until a colleague spilled the beans. That’s when Cole was forced to divulge her secret: For a period of time, she had been wearing clear aligners on her teeth. Until her frenemy’s revelation, only a few people knew — but when you compare the before-and-after pictures, the difference in her smile is clear.

So what exactly are clear aligners? Essentially, they consist of a series of thin plastic trays that are worn over the teeth for 22 hours each day. The trays are custom-made from a computerized model of an individual’s mouth. Each tray is designed to move the teeth a small amount, and each is worn for two weeks before moving on to the next in the series. When the whole series is complete, the teeth will have shifted into their new (and better aligned) positions.

Besides being virtually unnoticeable, aligners are easy to remove. This makes it easy to keep the teeth clean — and can come in handy for important occasions (like cover-photo shoots and acceptance speeches). But don’t remove them too frequently, or they won’t work as planned. If that’s a possibility (with teens, for example), aligners are available with “compliance indicators” to ensure they’re being worn as often as they should be. They can also be made with special tabs to hold a place for teeth that haven’t fully erupted (come in) yet — another feature that’s handy for teens.

So if you need orthodontic work but prefer to stay “under the radar,” ask us whether clear aligners could be right for you. Cheryl Cole did… and the results gave her something more to smile about.